DOCSLIB.ORG

NON-ALLIED FINLAND: PEACE and STABILTY in NORTHERN EUROPE”

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
NON-ALLIED FINLAND: PEACE and STABILTY in NORTHERN EUROPE” TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY School of Business and Governance Department of Law Joaquim Helineva “NON-ALLIED FINLAND: PEACE AND STABILTY in NORTHERN EUROPE” Bachelor’s thesis Programme INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Supervisor: Holger Mölder, PhD Tallinn 2019 1 I hereby declare that I have compiled the paper independently and all works, important standpoints and data by other authors has been properly referenced and the same paper has not been previously presented for grading. The document length is ……….. words from the introduction to the end of conclusion. Joaquim Helineva …………………………… (signature, date) Student code: 145000a Student e-mail address: [email protected] Supervisor: Holger Mölder: The paper conforms to requirements in force …………………………………………… (signature, date) Chairman of the Defence Committee: Permitted to the defence ………………………………… (name, signature, date) 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 5 1. NEUTRALITY, NON-ALLIANCE AND ALLIANCE ......................................................................... 7 2. THE COLD WAR PERIOD ................................................................................................................. 10 2.1. Basis for Finnish Neutrality Position in the Cold War......................................................... 11 2.2. Neutral Finland: Recognition in the International Community ........................................... 13 2.3. The Multifaceted Note Crisis ............................................................................................... 14 2.4. Finland’s Special Position due to Neutrality ........................................................................ 16 2.5. The Beneficial Bilateral trade due to Finland’s Neutrality .................................................. 18 3. TRANSITION FROM THE COLD WAR TO PRESENT TIME ........................................................ 20 4. FINLAND AND ITS FOREING & SECURITY POLICY .................................................................. 22 4.1. The European Union’s Common Foreign Policy ................................................................. 25 4.2. Finland’s Co-Operation with the NATO .............................................................................. 27 5. FINLAND’S NON-ALLIANCE MOVEMENT AND CO-OPERATION WITH RUSSIA ................ 32 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................. 35 LIST OF REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 37 3 ABSTRACT Finland’s non-allied security policy has proven to be successful in maintaining peace in the region. The research has been grounded on a factual historical documentation analysis and relies on a qualitative method, process tracing. Collected research data begins from Finland’s President Paasikivi’s time, in power in the mid 1940’s, progressing through the Cold War period and leading towards modern Finland at the present time. The research indicates that Finland owes its peace to its political and military neutrality and non- alliance. Today modern Finland is recognized internationally as a reliable global partner and more importantly, being a stakeholder in security and peacekeeping. This approach has proven over modern times to maintaining peace and keeping Russian’s security formation satisfied. At the same time, Finland has been able to maintain solid political and economic partnerships with the Western world. This research identifies that becoming a full NATO member is not generally supported in Finland. So far Finland has not ever joined any military battle group associated with the EU or NATO, but maintains its position as a reliable and active partner associated with peacekeeping missions with EU and NATO organizations. Keyword: Non-Alliance, Neutrality, Security Policy, Peacekeeping 4 INTRODUCTION Finland’s foreign policy has become an interesting point of study because it has consistently developed its foreign relationships and stable national economic growth. The ability to act with peaceful resolution has given Finnish society a noteworthy quality of life by maintaining peace in and outside its borders. Finland’s position and pragmatic political approach has proven to The Russian State that their national security interest is of primary importance. When analyzing history, the nearby sphere of influence has always been crucial for major states in power politics. Generally, the major power tends to affect its sphere of influence from peaceful methods to an armed conflict. Russia seems to be willing to maintain former Soviet States under their sphere of influence. Finland understands its neighbor’s perspective when it comes to security as a non-allied country. The goals of Finland’s foreign and security policy are to strengthen Finland’s international position, to secure its independence and territorial integrity, and ultimately, to improve the security and wellbeing of Finns. In a world of global interdependencies, Finland aims at promoting international stability, peace, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and equality (Government Report 2016). In this respect, the following work will propose answers to issues pertaining to the very consistence of Finnish neutrality. The central research questions include: Is Finnish political and military neutrality guaranteeing peace and stability in Northern Europe? Is Finland still genuinely neutral within the contemporary political scene? How does this neutrality translate into its relationships with other neighboring States? The thesis is: Finland owes its peace to its political and military neutrality. Finally, will Finland be able to maintain this political stance in the future? These questions are relevant to the 5 current state of Finland’s foreign policy and will provide information that can be used to determine the future success of the country. This research paper is grounded on a factual historical documentation analysis. The research relies on a qualitative method—more specifically, process tracing. A qualitative approach will be taken because it enables the researcher to examine multiple sources that address foreign policy in Finland in order to determine similarities and differences. It is more flexible in this given scenario because the data can be compared and contrasted without being analyzed in a more systematic approach. Process tracing is a common method utilized by researchers in political science, aiming at developing theories from multiple sources that provide inputs and result in various outputs. This is very relevant when examining certain policies that have previously been implemented by the country because it will show exactly what they have done and what these actions have caused for the country, whether positive or negative. This will help the data to be more structured, but also allow for some flexibility when conducting the research because the knowledge that will be found is not pre-determined. Source information has been gathered from official reports data and analysis made by the Finnish government, the NATO and individual researchers. The author reasons these decisions from the Cold War period to present time. First, specific terms, such as “neutrality” or “non-alignment”, will be explained, thanks to the contribution of international scholars. Second, a study from the Cold War period and the following complex “opening” on to a complex post-Cold War global situation will be explicated. The heated Cold War period situations such as the Note Crisis will be examined as a symptom of underlying political, economic and diplomatic crisis. Finally, the end of the Cold War era proceeds to the present time, transitioning from neutrality to a non-alignment. The following report is structured with an introduction, a literature review in which the relevant literature regarding Finnish foreign policy is examined and finally, a conclusion that will determine the findings of the relevant knowledge. 6 1. NEUTRALITY, NON-ALLIANCE AND ALLIANCE The concept of neutrality was developed in Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The term stems out the Latin ne uter, meaning “neither of two,” and basically meant non- participation in a war between other countries. Neutrality has both a legal and a political dimension. The legal basis of neutrality was drawn up at the beginning of the twentieth century in a code of regulations, enshrined in the Hague Conventions of 1907, which outlined the conduct of neutral states in time of war (Fisher 2016). Although this set of rules may seem outdated at the beginning of the 21st century, it still represents neutrality’s legal core. By virtue of Hague Conventions of 1907, distinctions are further drawn between occasional (ad hoc, temporary) and permanent (perpetual, everlasting) neutrality. A country is occasionally neutral when it declares neutrality in a specific war, and only for the duration of that war. A country is permanently neutral when it commits itself to remain neutral in all future wars, as e.g. Switzerland did upon signing a multilateral agreement with the great powers at the Congress
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Seppo Hentilä.Indb
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto President Urho Kekkonen of Finland and the KGB K IMMO RENTOLA A major post-Cold War history debate in Finland has been over the role of President Urho Kekkonen and his relations with the Soviet Union, in particular with the Soviet foreign intelligence. No surprise to anybody, variance of interpretations has been wide, fuelled by scarcity of sources on the most sensitive aspects, by the unavoidable ambiguity of an issue like the intelligence, and even by political leanings.1 As things stand now, even a preliminary assessment of available evidence – viewed from a distance – might prove useful. The Soviet Union regularly tried to build back-channel contacts and confi dential informal links with the Western powers. On the Soviet side, these contacts were usually conducted by intelligence offi cers, as were those to Robert Kennedy on the eve of the Cuban missile crisis,2 and to Chancellor Willy Brandt during his new German Ostpolitik.3 By far the 1 A good introduction to Finnish studies on Kekkonen in J. Lavery. ‘All of the President’s Historians: The Debate over Urho Kekkonen’, Scandinavian Studies 75 (2003: 3). See also his The History of Finland. Westport: Greenwood Press 2006, and the analysis of D. Kirby, A Concise History of Finland. Cambridge University Press 2006. 2 An account by G. Bolshakov, ‘The Hot Line’, in New Times (Moscow), 1989, nos. 4-6; C. Andrew, For the President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and American Presidency from Washington to Bush.
    [Show full text]
  • Soldiering and the Making of Finnish Manhood
    Soldiering and the Making of Finnish Manhood Conscription and Masculinity in Interwar Finland, 1918–1939 ANDERS AHLBÄCK Doctoral Thesis in General History ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY 2010 © Anders Ahlbäck Author’s address: History Dept. of Åbo Akademi University Fabriksgatan 2 FIN-20500 Åbo Finland e-mail: [email protected] ISBN 978-952-12-2508-6 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-12-2509-3 (pdf) Printed by Uniprint, Turku Table of Contents Acknowledgements v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Images and experiences of conscripted soldiering 1 1.2 Topics in earlier research: The militarisation of modern masculinity 8 1.3 Theory and method: Conscription as a contested arena of masculinity 26 1.4 Demarcation: Soldiering and citizenship as homosocial enactments 39 2 The politics of conscription 48 2.1 Military debate on the verge of a revolution 52 2.2 The Civil War and the creation of the “White Army” 62 2.3 The militiaman challenging the cadre army soldier 72 2.4 From public indignation to closing ranks around the army 87 2.5 Conclusion: Reluctant militarisation 96 3 War heroes as war teachers 100 3.1 The narrative construction of the Jägers as war heroes 102 3.2 Absent women and distant domesticity 116 3.3 Heroic officers and their counter-images 118 3.4 Forgetfulness in the hero myth 124 3.5 The Jäger officers as military educators 127 3.6 Conclusion: The uses of war heroes 139 4 Educating the citizen-soldier 146 4.1 Civic education and the Suomen Sotilas magazine 147 4.2 The man-soldier-citizen amalgamation 154 4.3 History, forefathers and the spirit of sacrifice
    [Show full text]
  • Finnish Studies Volume 18 Number 2 July 2015 ISSN 1206-6516 ISBN 978-1-937875-95-4
    JOURNAL OF INNISH TUDIES F S International Influences in Finnish Working-Class Literature and Its Research Guest Editors Kirsti Salmi-Niklander and Kati Launis Theme Issue of the Journal of Finnish Studies Volume 18 Number 2 July 2015 ISSN 1206-6516 ISBN 978-1-937875-95-4 JOURNAL OF FINNISH STUDIES EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICE Journal of Finnish Studies, Department of English, 1901 University Avenue, Evans 458 (P.O. Box 2146), Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2146, USA Tel. 1.936.294.1420; Fax 1.936.294.1408 SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADVERTISING, AND INQUIRIES Contact Business Office (see above & below). EDITORIAL STAFF Helena Halmari, Editor-in-Chief, Sam Houston State University; [email protected] Hanna Snellman, Co-Editor, University of Helsinki; [email protected] Scott Kaukonen, Assoc. Editor, Sam Houston State University; [email protected] Hilary Joy Virtanen, Asst. Editor, Finlandia University; hilary.virtanen@finlandia. edu Sheila Embleton, Book Review Editor, York University; [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Börje Vähämäki, Founding Editor, JoFS, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Raimo Anttila, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles Michael Branch, Professor Emeritus, University of London Thomas DuBois, Professor, University of Wisconsin Sheila Embleton, Distinguished Research Professor, York University Aili Flint, Emerita Senior Lecturer, Associate Research Scholar, Columbia University Titus Hjelm, Lecturer, University College London Richard Impola, Professor Emeritus, New Paltz, New York Daniel Karvonen, Senior Lecturer, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Andrew Nestingen, Associate Professor, University of Washington, Seattle Jyrki Nummi, Professor, Department of Finnish Literature, University of Helsinki Juha Pentikäinen, Professor, Institute for Northern Culture, University of Lapland Oiva Saarinen, Professor Emeritus, Laurentian University, Sudbury George Schoolfield, Professor Emeritus, Yale University Beth L.
    [Show full text]
  • From Personality Cult Figure to Camp Image – the Case of President Urho Kekkonen
    From personality cult figure to camp image – the case of President Urho Kekkonen Tuuli Lähdesmäki , University of Jyväskylä, Finland Volume 6, Issue 1 (May 2009) Abstract Former Finnish President Urho Kekkonen (1900-1986) has two debated monuments in Finland. The debates surrounding these monuments contain intense rhetoric which indicates a particular sentiment towards Kekkonen. This attitude is described in the article in terms of cultic discourse. During the first monument project at the end of the 1980s, Kekkonen was still broadly seen as an official political icon, which was approached through personality cultic discourse. The second monument was executed in 2000 after large critical debates over the Kekkonen era and his persona. As a result of these debates, the cultic discourse transformed its traits – Kekkonen was consciously seen as a mythological figure whose features could be exaggerated, ironized and turned into hilarious stories. In the postmodern atmosphere of the turn of the millennium, the figure of Kekkonen was even aestheticized as camp. This article explains how the cultic discourse about Kekkonen has changed in Finland during the past two decades. Keywords: personality cult, cultic discourse, camp, monument, Urho Kekkonen, Finland Cultic discourse in monument debates Erecting a monument for the commemoration of a person is a practice which frequently produces public discussions on the meanings of the monument. Sometimes the monuments even cause severe debates, in which people are only seemingly talking about the monument
    [Show full text]
  • The Finnish Developmental State and Its Growth Regime
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Jäntti, Markus; Vartiainen, Juhana Working Paper The Finnish developmental state and its growth regime WIDER Research Paper, No. 2009/35 Provided in Cooperation with: United Nations University (UNU), World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) Suggested Citation: Jäntti, Markus; Vartiainen, Juhana (2009) : The Finnish developmental state and its growth regime, WIDER Research Paper, No. 2009/35, ISBN 978-92-9230-206-1, The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/45169 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Research Paper No. 2009/35 The Finnish Developmental State and its Growth Regime Markus Jäntti1 and Juhana Vartiainen2 June 2009 Abstract This paper reviews Finland’s growth strategy in the postwar decades.
    [Show full text]
  • From Silence to Historical Consciousness the Holocaust and WWII in Finnish History Politics
    From Silence to Historical Consciousness The Holocaust and WWII in Finnish History Politics ANTERO HOLMILA JOUNI TILLI ABSTRACT: Despite the fact that there are similar trajectories and turning points between Finland’s and other European countries’ responses to the Holocaust, it is still the case that trends in Holocaust studies and key debates within the field have had less impact on Finnish understanding of the Holocaust than one might suspect. Instead, as this article examines, the way in which Finland’s Holocaust awareness has been developing since the end of the war in general, and in the 2000s in particular, has been intimately linked with the Finnish understanding of its own role in WWII. This tendency was most clearly illustrated in the controversy that took place during 2003 and 2004 with the publication of Elina Sana’s book Luovutetut [The Extradited]. RÉSUMÉ : Malgré le fait qu’il existe des trajectoires et points-clés similaires entre la réponse de la Finlande et les réponses des autres pays européens à l’Holocauste, elle demeure le cas en vogue dans les études de l’Holocauste, et les débats-clés au sein de ce champ d’études ont eu moins d’impact sur la compréhension finlandaise de l’Holocauste que l’on pourrait le soupçonner. À la place, tel que l’examine cet article, la façon dont s’est développée la conscience finlandaise de l’Holocauste depuis la fin de la guerre en général, et dans les années 2000, en particulier, a été intimement liée à la compréhension finlandaise de son propre rôle dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
    [Show full text]
  • H.E. Harri Holkeri, President
    United Nations Nations Unies T HE PRESIDENT OF THE GEN ERAL ASSEMBLY LE PRESIDENT DE L’AS SEMBLEE GENERALE Biography of Mr. Harri Holkeri, President of the 55th Session of the General Assembly Mr. Harri Holkeri, the President of the fifty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly—the Millennium Assembly—brings to the post a wealth of political experience, as well as a reputation as a skilled mediator and consensus builder. He was Finland's Prime Minister from 1987 to 1991, and for over four decades has served his country and the international community in several political and economic posts. The most renowned and prestigious conservative political figure in Finland over the last few decades, he served as Secretary of the National Coalition Party from 1965 to 1971 and as Party Leader from 1971 to 1979. From 1970 to 1978, he was a Member of the Parliament. He also served as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Bank of Finland (central bank) from 1978 to 1997. As Prime Minister, he headed a coalition formed by his party and the Social Democrats. Mr. Holkeri played a key role in developing the social consensus that led to the creation of the coalition government in power from 1987 to 1991, and of which he was Prime Minister. That government was based on cooperation between the Conservative and the Social Democratic parties—a cooperation that extended to international affairs as well. His political philosophy— “You cannot make easy decisions unless you first commit yourself to hard solutions”—has guided his political life.
    [Show full text]
  • Kekkonen, Niinistö Ja Koivisto Arvostetuimmat Presidentit
    TIEDOTE 1 Kansalaiset: Kekkonen, Niinistö ja Koivisto arvostetuimmat presidentit Kaikkien aikojen arvostetuimmiksi tasavallan presidenteiksi nousevat Urho Kekkonen ja Sauli Niinistö, käy ilmi KAKS – Kunnallisalan kehittämissäätiön kansalaistutkimuksesta. Noin puolet (49 %) suomalaisista asettaa Kekkosen kolmen eniten arvostamansa presidentin joukkoon. Kekkosen niskaan hengittää istuva tasavallan presidentti Niinistö, jonka myös lähes joka toinen (45 %) valitsee kolmen arvostetuimman joukkoon. Kolmanneksi arvostetuin on Mauno Koivisto (35 %). Itsenäisyyden ajan neljä ensimmäistä tasavallan presidenttiä sijoittuvat kansalaisten arvostuslistalla tyveen. Tulos ei tarkoita, etteikö heitä arvostettaisi, mutta tänä päivänä vähemmän kuin kolmea kärkeen sijoittunutta. Todennäköisesti ainakin nuoremmalle osalle väestöä heidän saavutuksensa ovat tuntemattomia. Sen sijaan neljä viimeisintä presidenttiä ovat kaikki kuuden arvostetuimman joukossa. Naiset arvostavat Halosta ja Koivistoa enemmän kuin miehet Miesten ja naisten välillä on eroa arvostuksissa. Kekkosen ja Niinistön arvostus on tosin suurinta molemmissa ryhmissä. Naiset antavat kuitenkin tunnustusta keskimäärää useammin etenkin Tarja Haloselle ja Mauno Koivistolle. Miehistä vain joka viides (22 %) sijoittaa Halosen kolmen arvostetuimman joukkoon, naisista kaksi viidestä (39 %). Miesten parissa mainitaan naisia useammin Ryti, Mannerheim ja Paasikivi. Halosen ja Ahtisaaren arvostus on hivenen korkeampaa nuorimman ikäluokan keskuudessa. Tulos kielii siitä, että etenkin alle 35-vuotiaat naiset
    [Show full text]
  • Paths in Austrian and Finnish History
    Smallcons Project A Framework for Socio-Economic Development in Europe? The Consensual Political Cultures of the Small West European States in Comparative and Historical Perspective (No. HPSE-CT-2002-00134) Work Package 10 Paths in Austrian and Finnish History Helmut Konrad, Martin Pletersek, Andrea Strutz (eds.) Department of History/Contemporary History, University of Graz September 2004 Contributors: Helmut Konrad, Martin Pletersek, Johanna Rainio-Niemi, Henrik Stenius, Andrea Strutz 2 Contents Helmut Konrad, Martin Pletersek, Andrea Strutz Paths in Austrian and Finnish history – a tentative comparison Helmut Konrad Periods in the History of Austrian Consensualism Henrik Stenius Periodising Finnish Consensus Martin Pletersek, Andrea Strutz A Monarchy and Two Republics – the Austrian Path (including comparative context of neighbouring new EU-members) Johanna Rainio-Niemi Paths in the Austrian and Finnish history: FINLAND (including comparative context of neighbouring new EU-members) 3 Paths in Austrian and Finnish history – a tentative comparison Helmut Konrad, Martin Pletersek, Andrea Strutz The smallcons-project "A Framework for Socio-economic Development in Europe? The Consensual Political Cultures of the Small West European States in Comparative and Historical Perspective" reserves a particular place for Austria and Finland because "[…] these cases suggest that the communication capacity conditional for consensualism can emerge within only a few decades." (Annex to the contract: 3). As opposed to the other project countries, the project proposal assumes that the two are the discontinuity cases whose historical paths didn't seem to point towards consensualism. In the words of Peter Katzenstein, "[…] the Austrian train was at every branch switched in a direction opposite from the other small European states." (1985: 188).
    [Show full text]
  • Personifying Poitics and Politicizing Persons
    Journal of Political Science Volume 20 Number 1 Article 4 November 1992 Personifying Poitics and Politicizing Persons Kari Paakkunainen Tauno Saarela Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/jops Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Paakkunainen, Kari and Saarela, Tauno (1992) "Personifying Poitics and Politicizing Persons," Journal of Political Science: Vol. 20 : No. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/jops/vol20/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Politics at CCU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Political Science by an authorized editor of CCU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PERSONIFYING POLITICS AND POLITICIZING PERSONS Kari Paakkunainen and Tauno Saarela University of Helsinki Since the 1950s and 1960s, Western political science has pro­ moted two myths. The first is the belief that the human sciences must follow the methodology of the natural sciences and employ the same truth conditions. This belief is a myth precisely because it is not possible in any science to begin from axioms about method and truth that are self-grounding or self-justifying. Rather, the validity of any statement in any science depends on its context. An attempt to write about any science without presuppositions would fail, because all meaningful statements have a deep linguistic history, and the interpretation of their meaning is an "endless task." 1 The other myth is that the classic texts of "political theory" are an actual historical tradition purveying meaning and signifi­ cance across the generations; moreover that this is "A Great Discussion" continuing from philosophers of antiquity to modem political scientists, biographers and parliamentarians.
    [Show full text]
  • Finland During the Cold War – Finlandisation
    Finland during the Cold War – Diplomatic balancing act or anxious subordination? Why would a German student group researching the Cold War visit Finland? As Finland played a unique role in the delicate bipolar constellation of the era in question, it certainly represents an interesting aspect in this matter. Based on our seminar readings as well as on the exchange with our fellow Finnish students and our own experience in Helsinki, we will furthermore try to give a short insight into the ongoing debate over Finland’s distinct role and motivations during the Cold War. Finland’s special relationship with the Soviet Union is partly due to the immediate legacy of the Second World War, but also goes further back, when the predecessor of the Soviet Union used to be Finland’s ruler. The fruits of this close historic relation were to be seen very early in the Cold War. Already in 1952, at the culminant point of the Korean War, Finland hosted the Olympic Games which both ‘Germanies’ as well as the Soviet Union attended. In accordance to the theories of the Cold War Research Group from the Aleksanteri Institute, we can see that sports, thanks to its actual apolitical character, always seem to have been important and influential on a communicational level. Additionally, as the Soviet Union won the Second World War, the Paris Peace Treaty from 1947 as well as the Friendship Cooperation for Mutual Assistance between Finland and the Soviet Union dating back to 1948, both turned out in favor of the Soviet Union. In both treaties, the special, friendly and trustful relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union (SU) was underlined once again.
    [Show full text]
  • Responding to Financial Crisis Rhee/Posen
    Responding to Financial Crisis Financial Crisis to Responding The Asian financial crisis of 1997–98 was devastating for the region, but policymakers at least believed that they gained a great deal of knowledge on how to prevent, mitigate, and resolve crises in the future. Fifteen Responding to years later, the Asian developing countries escaped the worst effects of the global crisis of 2008–10, in part because they had learned the right lessons from their own experience. In this important study, the Asian Development Bank and Peterson Institute for International Economics join forces to illuminate the con- trast between Asia’s performance during the more recent crisis with its performance during its own crisis and the gap between what the United States and European Union leaders recommended to Asia then and Financial Crisis what they have practiced on themselves since then. The overriding lessons emerging from the essays in this volume are that countries need to prepare for crises as if they cannot be prevented, make room for stabili- zation policies and deploy them rapidly when crises hit, and address the need for self-insurance globally if they can, or regionally if they must. LESSONS FROM ASIA THEN, CHANGYONG RHEE is the chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He is the chief spokes- person for ADB on economic and development trends and oversees the Economics and Research Depart- THE UNITED STATES ment, which publishes ADB’s flagship knowledge products. He has over 20 years of professional expe- rience as an economist, financial adviser, and academic. He was the secretary general and sherpa of the Presidential Committee for the 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit, as well as vice chairman of the Financial Services AND EUROPE Commission (FSC) and chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission in the Republic of Korea.
    [Show full text]